The nation’s most readily available supply of biomass and most-advanced biotechnology infrastructure has facilitated a major biorenewables research and production hub in central Iowa.

Iowa’s Cultivation Corridor hosts a comprehensive network of private, academic and government-funded laboratories that are advancing the commercialization of value-added, crop-based products and bio-based chemicals, polymers and fuels. The readily available feedstock and extensive distribution networks found here have allowed companies in the Corridor to greatly improve biofuels, biomass production and energy conversion technologies as they strive to provide new and better biorenewable products. In return, Iowa has become the nation’s top producer of both ethanol and biodiesel, and hosts 50 bioenergy plants, including the world’s first and largest cellulosic refinery. Together, this biorenewable network has a combined production capacity exceeding 4 billion gallons — more than a quarter of the U.S. supply.

1st

1st

Iowa is first in the nation for ethanol production and biomass availability.

60%

60%

Sixty percent of Iowa’s corn harvest is devoted to biofuels, more than any other state.

1st

1st

Iowa is the leading producer of biodiesel in the nation.

25%

25%

Iowa produces more than 25 percent of the nation’s total ethanol supply.

Pioneering companies and productive, hardworking farmers have enabled Iowa to lead the nation in the production of corn, soybeans, pork, eggs, ethanol, and biodiesel. Innovative Iowa companies are making a difference, from feeding a growing world population to reducing our nation’s dependency on foreign oil.— Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa